GREENSBORO, N.C. — Stricter penalties for fentanyl distribution are one step closer to becoming law in North Carolina.
Senate bill 189 passed with unanimous support Tuesday. It increases penalties for drug trafficking and expands the death-by-distribution law.
A former prosecutor and a mother who lost a daughter to an overdose know the effects drugs can have.
They're hoping for a solution, but they question whether the criminal justice system is the route to take.
Louise Vincent lost her daughter Selena Vincent to an overdose nearly five years ago to the day. She was just 20 years old.
It led Vincent to take an active approach to fighting for people struggling with substance abuse.
She's now the executive director of the North Carolina Survivors Union.
They focus on harm reduction and provide resources for people impacted by drug use.
She believes evidence-based treatment is a better solution than what senate bill 189 proposes.
"Someone might think after my experiences I would say yes something like this. It’s so much easier to be angry and punish than it is to be resourceful and work hard to develop something new that actually works,” Vincent said. “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem.”
Currently, a person who sells or is caught with a small amount of an opioid, faces a $50,000 fine. The bill would boost that fine to $500,000, and it continues to increase up to a million dollars based on the amount of drugs.
Vincent said this is counterproductive.
“We need to get people jobs being jobless puts people at risk for overdose being homeless puts you at risk, being disconnected from family and society those are the real causes of overdoses," Vincent said.
Kami Chavis a former prosecutor and current professor of law at William and Mary University said other states have proposed similar legislation but they have not deterred people from dealing drugs.
She said the war on drugs and the cocaine epidemic are prime examples of how incarceration doesn’t stop drug sales.
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page supports the bill, along with the North Carolina Sheriff's Association.
Page said the epidemic is affecting local families and this bill would help law enforcement.
"It gives us a way to hold those persons accountable. It would be beneficial to our prosecution and all sorts of investigations," said Page. "Now, the thing about it is, you know, we have to also work with people in our communities that have an addiction."
The bill expands the current death-by-distribution law adding offenses related to deaths caused by fentanyl.
It also expands The Good Samaritan Law adding fentanyl possession to the list of drugs where limited immunity is allowed to encourage people to call 911 during an overdose.
The bill will go before the house. If the bill becomes law, it will go into effect on December first.